Minutes 08/12/1980 - Laserfiche WebLink

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d. Prepare certain preliminary project designs, drawings and other studies. e. Prepare the 21 exhibits forming the major part of the license application. Some of these efforts will, of course, be supported by Beck's earlier investi- gations and reports, although updated geotec~nical, hydrological and power studies will be performed as part of Phase III-A. The work order agreement to Beck for Phase III-A will obligate the City to an additional expenditure of $340,000. "Phase III-B - Processing by FERC" is scheduled to begin in early 1982 and will require some 24 months, during' which FERC may request additional environmental or other studies as it is considering the license application. Unfortunately, the cost of Phase III -B cannot be very well predicted at this time, because of various unknowns as to Phase III-A. However, for the pur- poses of financial planning, we are estimating an additional cost ranging from $75,000 to $125,000 for Phase III-B. As shown on the project schedule, two additional phases will remain after Phase III-A. lfPhase IV - Design and Contract Documents" will commence during and largely overlap Phase III-B. This phase will see the finalization of design, development of plan documents, additional field investigations, ordering of equipment and the taking of bids. It will begin in July, 1982, and conclude, generally 23 months later in May, 1984, at about the same time the FERC license is received. "Phase V - Construction" will begin in spring of 1984 and include construction of the project's physical features, installation of equipment and start-up al1.d testing. If all goes well, the project will go "on-line" about two years later. CURRENT AND FUTURE LEGAL CONSIDERATIONS Most of the legal questions surrounding the Ridgeway Project are related to financing technicalities, with particular emphasis on features of the referendum. Interest in these questions accelerated earlier this year when City Council became largely convinced that no additional financial commitment to the project (beyond the Phase I1-B - Evaluation Report) should be made until after a referendum was held. This was understandable enough, since a successful referendum would go far to assure citizen support and also provide authority for the required financing (issuance of bonds) . This tentative decision, however, raised and/or focused attention on several legal issues--most of which have been addressed very recently. Is a Referendum Required?_ The bond attorney has generally advised that a referendum is not necessarily required if the City chooses to iSj3ue the bonds under Chapter V, Title 15.1 of the Virginia Code, referred to as the Public Finance Act. This is somewhat academic, however, since the Council has always maintained that the project would and should be subject to a vote of Martinsville citizens. -7-